Chapter Sixteen: Blood Blade and the Feast of Fruit

Bloodblade Fruit... It's something edible... Morningstar couldn't help but rejoice; he had successfully obtained the most precious item in this dungeon! And thanks to the Witch of Flowers’ quest, he had also received a miraculous recovery potion for free!

When he saw the name Bloodblade Fruit, Morningstar instinctively swallowed, a surge of hunger rising from his throat. He checked the item.

[Bloodblade Fruit
Type: Core Body (Note: This item is a permanent constitution item, causing drastic changes and will, to some extent, reshape your physical body)
Affinity: Blade-Cup
Description: In the center of the battlefield, a calamity known as the ‘Bloodblade Tree’ will grow, continually watching over the battleground. When the war is about to cease, it will produce a Bloodblade Fruit to incite even greater conflict.
Effect: Consuming this fruit will reshape your body, increase your attributes, and grant special enhancements. It requires digestion.]

Aside from the usual panel, there was an especially conspicuous red warning.

[Warning: This fruit has a highly specific affinity. Unless you possess either Blade or Cup affinity, or have the strong endurance of Ice affinity, consumption is highly likely to fail, resulting in severe bodily harm or even death. Consume with caution.]

Affinity once again... Morningstar had encountered this term several times in the game. It seemed to be akin to attributes, and to a certain extent, influenced the gameplay approach. For instance, he belonged to Blade and Lantern affinity; these special effects allowed his playstyle to lean toward monster hunting and exploration.

Now, the Bloodblade Fruit before him clearly required a specific affinity. Fortunately, his affinity was Lantern and Blade, perfectly matching the Blade requirement.

This journey truly was lucky, Morningstar patted his chest and let out a long sigh. Generally, the effects of such exclusive foods were extraordinary, which only increased his expectations!

But for now, he was still inside the ‘Land of Gluttony,’ not entirely out of danger. Morningstar looked at the game.

[After you acquire the Bloodblade Fruit, the Gluttonous Flower withers, and its roots that support the cave begin to lose strength.]
[With the fall of the core ‘Gluttonous Flower,’ the entire Land of Gluttony undergoes earth-shattering changes.]
[Hidden flower sprites wail en masse, twisted rock roots lose power and fade, the rock wall above you suddenly splits open, and a massive conical fissure appears overhead.]

The ability to move mountains and overturn seas!

[Daylight shines upon your face, your mind stabilizes.]
Thankfully, he was a player and possessed many ways to bypass obstacles; if he had to defeat the Gluttonous Flower by force, who knew how many levels it would take.

[You hear an anxious voice behind you; the Witch of Flowers, losing her usual grace in excitement, rushes over.]
[“What happened?” The Witch of Flowers gazed at the withered Gluttonous Flower, suspicion rising. Could the legendary endlessly hungry Gluttonous Flower truly have succumbed to her carefully crafted potion?]
[No, her cleverness soon denied this thought, so she turned her curious gaze upon you—yet you hadn’t lost any body parts.]
[Question-mark blossoms sprouted atop the Witch of Flowers’ head.]
[Seeing her curiosity, you shrink back in fear.]

Morningstar instinctively shrank back as well.

[Her curiosity only deepened. You are but an ordinary Night Watcher; though Night Watchers are indeed tastier than common folk, you shouldn't be more delicious than her, the paragon of elegance.]
[You lose a lock of hair!]

The sudden message startled Morningstar into touching his own hair. What was she planning?

[She tasted your hair; it didn’t compare to hers. Ultimately, after your questioning, she attributed it to the Gluttonous Flower’s unique flavor and your luck and peculiarity.]

Thankfully, she didn’t eat people; Morningstar breathed out in relief.

[Masses of flower sprites, before withering, began a frenzied dance! Their roots lashed out in indiscriminate attack!]
[The Witch of Flowers glanced up at the fissure above, extended a vine to grab you, and leapt upward repeatedly, carrying you away from danger.]
[Departing...]

Finally, he was leaving this cursed place. Reading the last line, Morningstar felt at ease, sipping water to calm his nerves.

It must be said that Lantern affinity was truly absurd; if he weren’t a player, passing this dungeon would have been impossible.

[You and the Witch of Flowers escape the Land of Gluttony, start running, and encounter your beloved little donkey—it hadn’t fled.]
[The little donkey returned to your side.]
[Looking back, you see the land of Dappled Light collapsing, making you marvel at the perils of adventure.]
[Parting time has arrived; the Witch of Flowers sizes you up. You are not an ordinary Night Watcher; the aura of mystery about you is only slightly less than hers.]
[“Interesting Night Watcher, your appearance continues to astound me.” Several small yellow flowers of joy sprouted atop her head. “In my long years, this is the first time I’ve seen a Night Watcher brave enough to traverse the Dull Lands. Rest assured, an elegant person always keeps their word.”]
[You complete the Witch of Flowers’ quest; as promised, she gives you a potion.]
[Acquired a bottle of Spiritual Potion.]
[Spiritual Potion: Restores 10 points of spiritual energy upon consumption.]

A treasure! Morningstar happened to be short on spiritual energy; these 10 points meant he could use the Morning Star Seek five more times.

[The Witch of Flowers sniffed you and detected the scent of the Corrosive Flower Core!]
[This is a rare item, but it must be used by an alchemist to show its true value. The Witch of Flowers offers: if you give her the Corrosive Flower Core, she will craft something for you, splitting the result three-quarters in your favor, and once finished, she’ll send the potion to the Night Watcher headquarters.]
[Accept?]

From the current situation, the Witch of Flowers was a friendly NPC, showing no signs of malice and demonstrating considerable power.

Moreover, the Corrosive Flower Core was, to him, just a commodity for sale, and most likely would be sold to an alchemist anyway.

Yes.

[The Witch of Flowers took the core and thanked you. She still needed to venture further for ingredients, and found your little donkey quite ugly.]
[The Witch of Flowers had never seen such a special Night Watcher. Before leaving, she said, “The Master Alchemist of Black River Prison remembers you!”]

“???”

She remembers me? Am I being targeted?

Hopefully, when I meet her again, she’ll be normal.

After parting with the Witch of Flowers in-game, he, as usual, directed his character to return to Black River Prison to rest.

This time, however, his character was not only fatigued, but also exhausted from the first use of a spell. According to the text, he needed a longer rest to recover, probably until tomorrow.

...

[Resting...]

After confirming the rest, Morningstar closed his eyes for a moment, tallying his gains.

A powerful recovery potion, a spiritual potion, and a Mouse’s Token.

But most importantly, one Bloodblade Fruit!

It was time to deal with this “Bloodblade Fruit”!

Now, Morningstar faced a small problem.

Which mouth should he use to eat the fruit? The mouth in reality, or the one in-game? A minor detail, but important.

If I eat the fruit in real life, will my character in-game be strengthened?

Morningstar was just a novice player with only a day’s experience, unfamiliar with many details.

Better ask the friendly folks in the chat group! After all, they’re seasoned veterans.

Morningstar opened the New Day chat group.

Night Wanderer: Does anyone know, for body-enhancing food items in the game, should the game character eat them, or should I eat them myself?

Watchdog: “I was just pondering this myself. Someone recently gave me a special strengthening food—apparently, if you eat it for seven days straight, your strength increases by one, up to five times. So, in a month, my strength should be half again that of a normal person—a real powerhouse!”

Watchdog sent a voice message, brimming with excitement, as if he’d already become a muscle giant.

But he didn’t answer Morningstar’s question.

Morningstar grew anxious and quickly typed.

Night Wanderer: So which is better?

At that moment, a high-level player replied—it was the legendary Fisherman.

Fisherman: “For recovery food items, only one side benefits—either reality or the game; use it where the injury is worse. For rare constitution-boosting items, it’s recommended to use them in reality. Because permanent constitution items benefit both sides, and according to collected data, reality is preferable. If you use it in the game, the benefit to reality is delayed; if you use it in reality, the game-side doesn’t lag. So, reality is better.”

The message was long, and seemed logical...

Fisherman: “By the way, this guide is copy-pasted from an organization with excellent benefits. If you want to join, contact me.”

Was this reply serious? Morningstar, used to Fisherman’s absurd messages, found this normal answer somewhat unsettling.

...

On the banks of the White River, at an inconspicuous wild fishing spot.

A man in a black suit hurried over, holding a folder.

“Old Yu, I found info on the two people you wanted.”

Only just arrived! Old Yu, who was fishing, frowned as he took the files, lamenting how slow information retrieval had become under interference from those superpowered hackers.

“We really need to speed things up; the situation isn’t optimistic.”

The old man called Yu glanced at the files, then looked at the chat group on his phone.

He suddenly noticed Night Wanderer in the chat and realized that this was the rare, talented newcomer who joined yesterday!

Unlike ordinary games, recovery items in the New Day world were like miracle drugs in reality—priceless, with their value in New Capital absolutely high!

Not to mention constitution-boosting items, which weren’t something a newcomer could access.

He hastily typed.

Fisherman: “Wait, you’ve only been playing for less than a day; do you have recovery items or constitution items? I get it, are you fishing for me again? Friend, don’t judge by my username and always try to fish for me; I’ve seen plenty of online scams.”

As one of the two most watched newcomers this month, Fisherman’s words instantly sparked discussion in the group.

Some key professions in New Capital did have teachers who gave them medicines to help them grow.

But according to veteran players, Night Watcher was the unluckiest starting class—surviving in New Capital was already a feat, let alone having a mentor.

Instantly, many echoed Fisherman.

Hmm... I have both kinds of items.

Morningstar wasn’t sure how to politely reply.

Forget it, better be modest and just answer with ellipses; his growth rate did seem unusually fast.

Night Wanderer: “...”

He didn’t want to rely on just one person’s answer, so he double-checked the info in the group, confirming its authenticity. This wasn’t a confidential guide managed by Luo Qing, so it was published in the group documents.

The information was real: for constitution items, both the character and himself could benefit, but using them in reality was better, allowing faster real-world improvement.

Morningstar took the Bloodblade Fruit out of the game.